Prototype Issue
Spray On: Graffiti Still the Word on LA Streets
By Lori Kozlowski
(page 1 of 2)Inspired by the New York subway scene of the 1960s and gang scrawlings of the early ’80s, graffiti was introduced to LA as part of an emerging hip-hop scene—even before many people knew what hip-hop was.
Throwback spots like Radiotron, LA’s first underground hip-hop club, and the Belmont Tunnel, an empty train station across from MacArthur Park, inspire memories for pioneers who have tracked the writing on the walls over the past 25 years.
Today, LA graffiti has evolved into a massive subculture of friends, foes, fine art and fat caps.
Some tags and throw-ups have evolved into personal signatures. If a writer puts the work in, his scribbles could become bubble—looped and cursive letters that gel together to form modern art—or masterpieces under the freeway.
Ask taggers why they do it, and you’ll get a different response from each one. But no matter how good a tagger is, writers agree that young kids coming up still have to prove themselves.
Four heavyweights of today’s graff world—Unit LOD, Frame, Trigz and Make STN—give their take on the scene’s true colors.
Unit LOD, one of the founders of www.50mmlosangeles.com, a world-renowned website for tracking LA graffiti writers and their beefs with one another, said that regardless of its artistic merits, graffiti is still lawless.
“Graffiti by definition is illegal,” he admitted. “But if you haven’t done your dirt in the street, you get no respect.”
Though he started writing in 1987, Unit LOD doesn’t tag anymore. Instead, he enjoys sitting back and watching the scene as it continues to change. He explained that the streets have taken their cues from mainstream media.
“You’re walking around the city, you’re seeing more and more billboards, so naturally you’re going to want to be a part of it. Here you are surrounded by messages and you’re just putting your own message out there. You’re selling yourself as a celebrity. Graffiti is a poor man’s advertising campaign.”
Influenced by early-’80s documentaries Wild Style and Style Wars, veteran writer Frame started out in 1983, inking his and his girlfriend’s names onto bus seats while on his way to see her in the Valley. Recalling his early days, he said, “There was this big thing happening. It changed my life.”
Frame noted that Soon and Zephyr were two of the earliest New York transplants who had influence over writers on the West Coast. He explained how graffiti artists put in their time—fine-tuning their craft, slowly building can control.
“Back in the day, we had our own rules. Today it seems like there’s a new set of rules. Everyone who uses a spray can thinks they’re a graffiti writer,” Frame said, noting that a spray can in hand does not a graff writer make.
“Graffiti by definition is illegal, but if you haven’t done your dirt in the street, you get no respect.”
Frame is now a commissioned artist sponsored by spray-paint producer Montana Colors. He has created work for drink manufacturer Glacéau, NBC, Paramount, Marc Ecko and other companies.
Though he works for corporate entities, he says he still enjoys traditional graffiti too.
“I believe it needs to be expressed out in the streets where it was born.”
Fairly new to the scene, Trigz started tagging at the end of 2003. At 30, he feels that he started out at a late age. But he noted the adrenaline rush he gets from the work: “It started out as a weird habit. I did it once and didn’t want to stop. It becomes obsessive. It’s a rush.”
Trigz’ trademark colors are simple silver and black, but to put up his tags, he does what he has to do, and even busts out the bolt cutters if he has to.
His favorite piece? “The best one is always the last one,” he says, with a laugh.
Make STN is an artist’s artist. As a young kid, he fell in love with the shape of letters.
Great Article Posted by Tom McKenzie 579 days ago
I gave a copy of your article to my elementary school friend for his homework assignment and he got an A+. Thanks! Also, since reading this I spotted an impressive Trigz tag in Echo Park.
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